If music could be set to canvas Tocsin, the new album from the French band Year Of No Light, would paint a multitude of greyish tonalities. As a matter of fact in just five tracks the Bordeaux natives will drag you down into an introspective solitude where black and grey are the only colours you can find. Some might consider this album a bit depressive, but a careful listener, despite the crushing sense of emptiness that fulfils the whole album, will recognize that Tocsin is intense and engaging and absolutely worth a listen.
Year Of No Light is composed by three guitarists, one bassist and two drummers, and its music compares to the typical sound of Cult of Luna. They mainly play post-metal music with elements of drone, shoegaze and sludge metal. Put simply, their music is heavy, slow and somewhere depressive, but absolutely beautiful. Tocsin is their third full length album and an incredibly hypnotic experience.
The album opens with the title track and despite the fact that it is a slow start it is full of tension. There's a certain sense of anxiety everywhere and the brilliant drum sound is breathtaking. The first minutes of the fourteen minute song work like an intro that has the aim to announce that something is going to happen. And you don't have to wait so much time cause suddenly a wall of sound will appear like an old steam locomotive that proceeds slowly on its path alone in night. The atmosphere is absolutely dark but you'll always find melodies and progressions here and there that make this album really interesting. The explosion of guitar noises and the devastating drums towards the end of the song are the proof of the artistry of the French band. Their ability to perfectly blend all their orchestra of instruments together before dissolving into the following 'Géhenne' is a stunning work of art.
In about six minutes 'Géhenne' has everything I expect from a post-rock/post-metal band: rhythm, passion from each note, light and darkness combined in a vertigo of sound able to keep you constantly on the move. The structure of this song is not like the typical post-rock songs that start slowly, eventually reach the point of explosion before falling back to the starting point. In this case you are always on the peak point before slowing down and flowing into 'Desolation' that is sombre and powerful. The droning sounds come in darkly woven passages, waves of sound amidst the fluttering voicing of guitar and percussion. The song is full of a feeling of foreboding but it is not depressing, instead I found it intense and captivating. The first time I listened to this song I enjoyed it laying down and with closed eyes.....experience 'Desolation' this way and you'll get the power of it.
'Stella Rectrix' and 'Alamüt' – approximately 30 minutes together – follow the same path of the first song. In particular 'Stella Rectrix' has a slow start and sounds like the soundtrack of the darkest and most apocalyptic day you can experience. For the most part of it the sound is dense of funeral atmosphere and the sense of anxiety that transmits to me is incredible. 'Alamüt' concludes the music journey of Tocsin and it is incredibly beautiful. All the tension of the previous song explodes here and it will surprise you cause people often forget how thrilling could be combining the crushing weight of metal with the sonic possibilities of electronic music – the short notes on the keyboard are amazing. Epic song!
Tocsin is a beautiful album that needs to be listened to again and again to get all its nuances and details. Experience it and you'll have an unforgettable journey. Tocsin will be released next November 29th, 2013 through Debemur Morti Productions.
